HOTSHOT table tennis players from University College School (UCS) in Hampstead took top honours at the Jack Petchey London Schools’ Table Tennis Team Finals on Saturday.

Held at the SportsDock at the University of East London, the competition bought together 188 players making up 41 teams from 29 schools from across the capital.

The Under-13s boys team from UCS came from 3-2 down to defeat Wandsworth’s Ernest Bevin in the final. Ben Barbarash’s win over rival Jeremiah Prempeh proved vital as he took the deciding fifth set 12-10 to put his side 4-3 ahead overall.

As an added surprise, the boys were presented with their winners medals by Paralympian Aaron McKibbin, who won bronze for Team GB in both Rio 2016 and London 2012. UCS will now play in the English Schools’ Table Tennis Association Regional finals, which take place in March.